Utilitarianism Flashcards
What was the hedonic calculus?
A means of calculating the moral status of an action through a set of criteria (intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity, extent)
Who first created Utilitarianism AND why?
- Jeremy Bentham
- in the 17th century, at a time of great social and political change (industrialisation, enlightenment, political revolution)
- he felt there needed to be a new, secular and rational approach to ethics
What did Francis Hutcheson say?
The greatest good for the greatest number of people
What type of argument is it? (3 intro points) + what do they mean?
Relativist- flexible
Consequentialist- morality is judged on the consequences which directly follow
Teleological- concerned with the end result
What is benthams book called ?
Principles of morals and legislation (1789)
Strengths of bentham’s system (3)
~flexibility (changes around circumstances)
~makes intuitive sense (most people agree that pleasure is good and pain is bad)
~ Empirical (people use their observation and knowledge to make an informed decision)
Weaknesses of Bentham’s system (3)
Bernard Williams - said that pleasure is subjective and some may gain pleasure from acts such as torture and sadism
We have no way of predicting the full consequences of an action (eg. complex governmental decisions)
Kant- critisised Consequentialist ethics
What system did John Stuart mill formulate?
What reforms did he propose for Bentham’s system?
Rule utilitarianism
His view was that pleasure and pain should NOT just be quanta rice figures and that the quality should also count.
He suggested the notion of higher and lower goods (higher = mind, lower = body)
“It’s better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”
Competent judges - people who are refined, educated
What was mills book called and written ?
‘Utilitarianism’ in 1863
What is Rule utilitarianism?
Every action is not counted as a new calculation.
There is a set if general rules which are established based in the observation of what consequences usually follow from an action (eg. Stealing is wrong as it usually brings pain)
Golden rule- do unto others as you would have them do to you
Strengths of mills system (3)
- avoids the problem of evil pleasures
- it is natural to distinguish between
pleasures (friendship over alcohol) - doesn’t allow crimes against minorities to benefit the majority
- allows a concept of justice (golden rule)
Weaknesses of mills system
- distinction between higher and lower pleasures is subjective
Who introduced preference utilitarianism ?
Who is the key modern advocate?
RM hare
Peter Singer
What is Preference Utilitarianism?
- moral status of an action is determined by wether or not preferences are fulfilled
- focus is on minimizing pain not maximising pleasure
- teleological (for the best outcome)
SINGER
- impartial spectator (we should treat everyone with impartiality, everyone’s preferences are equal)
- preferences are valued higher than life
- animals are also considered as they too show preferences
